


Moving Shadows

by PurpleJProductions (PurrJ), PurrJ



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26091151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurrJ/pseuds/PurpleJProductions, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurrJ/pseuds/PurrJ
Summary: My first real original work! I'll probably add more tags later on in the fic!
Kudos: 2





	1. Beginnings

A man stared at a large house, his eyes filled with an emotion that could not be read. The man himself was fairly short, around 5'4, and had tanned skin. His face was clean and he didn't have any facial hair, freckles dusting his cheeks. His hair was black and short, and it spiked up. His eyes were an icy blue and he wore a white shirt and a red cardigan, which he had buttoned up. His pants were light blue jeans and his shoes were red converse, and he had a bag that rested on his hip. And then there was the house. The house itself was old. Rotting. Covered in holes and dust and mold and a smell that couldn't be specified. And inside was dark. Oh so dark. He walked towards it, his veins filled with an icy chill as he did. He tried reassuring himself there was nothing to be afraid of but he couldn't believe himself fully. And it wasn't like he could say he had a reason to be here, because he didn't. He just felt something in him scream at him to go to the house. He heard a small sound behind him, making him turn back. It was a cat. And it looked.... Strange. It's legs were thin, and black in color, before leading up to a white body that was extremely fluffy. It's ears looked like a lynx's, and were as black as it's legs, but it's tail was long and fluffy. It walked towards him, and he let it. He knew the cat. It would show up outside his house and not leave unless he fed it. He called it Vixen, for whatever reason.

He didn't know it's gender but taking into consideration that it was a cat it probably didn't care about that. He didn't say anything to the cat. Not that he could, since he was mute, but he nodded at it. It let out a small purr and followed him up the steps. The odd pair came up to the door, which opened the moment they reached the porch. He froze, and almost jumped back but managed to control himself. Vixen growled and arched it's back but didn't do anything else. He walked towards the door and Vixen followed him, it's ears constantly turning to pick up any sounds. He walked inside, eyes looking around constantly for anything that he should run from. Anything at all. He didn't find anything and continued walking. He decided he was going to search the house to get an idea of the layout, since there didn't seem to be much else to do. He walked down a hallway and felt strange. Like he was being watched. He turned behind him only to find Vixen staring up at him, and it didn't seem too concerned by anything. He let out a shaky breath and tried to calm himself. He walked forward, eyes looking around for any possible danger. He was nervous in general, and began to rub his hands together to help calm himself down. The cat came up beside him and turned it's ears up, every now and again shooting a glance at the boy. You could almost say there was a look of concern in it's eyes, but it was unlikely.

The two came to a kitchen, which was extremely broken down and covered in mold. The cat sniffed the air and turned towards a cabinet, batting at it. The boy stared at it and walked towards it, crouching down and opening it. Inside was a small box. Well, two small boxes, he just saw one first. A music box was the first one he found. The other just seemed to be a normal wooden. He took the music box and tapped it. Nothing. He figured he needed to find the key to it first. He grabbed the wooden box and opened it. Inside were two keys, both too big for the music box. He tilted his head, curiosity filling him. He closed it and out it in his bag, getting up. He turned towards the cat who seemed had jumped on the counters and somehow managed to open all the drawers. He sighed, and walked towards it. It seemed to be sniffing at the contents of one drawer in particular, and he looked down in it. There was..... A mold. It was a key mold, and seemed to be extremely small. Small enough for a music box, maybe? Maybe. He took it and put it in his bag. Nothing else seemed to be interesting besides a small notebook, which he put in his bag for later reading. The cat jumped to his shoulders and played down across them, turning it's head towards the hallway. He went towards our of the kitchen and looked down the hallway, reaching the end.

He passed by a set of stairs, but that wasn't what had him interested now. It was the fact that the backyard...... The backyard was huge. And it wasn't fenced in. There was a fenced backyard on the outside so where did the fence go? He backed away from the backdoor and went up the stairs, deciding he'd get into that later. He walked up the stairs and found a door, he tried opening it but it was locked. He remembered the box in his bag and took it out, looking at the two keys he had. They were quite different from eachother. One was gold and elegant, covered in what seemed to be jewels, while the other was made of a dull iron, and only had a copper ring around the middle. He tried the full key with the door and opened it, looking around, surprised to find it led to a pretty normal attic. which could be viewed as disappointing, but it was a small house in general, and seemed pretty cheap, and it was old so anything of worth was probably taken. He looked around the attic and found a small chest. It was extremely small, and he could hold it in one hand. No key he had could possibly fit it's lock so he just tucked it away in his bag. He searched around for a bit, his search coming up unsuccessful except for some more notebooks, pieces of paper, a box of matches, and a record player. He turned around and jumped back when he saw a box that wasn't there before. He walked towards it, head tilted. It was neatly wrapped, red wrapping covering it and a white bow tied around it, and white cloth was on the ground it was placed on to keep it from getting dirty. He took it and opened it, curious as to what was inside. The first thing he took notice of was a book. It had a strange cover so he decided he would look into it later. Next he came to a.... A flashlight? Why was there a flashlight there? He shook his head and tucked it away. Next some batteries. God it was like a care package or something. He came to an envelope that was red, and a heart wax seal held it closed. And a pocket knife was beside it, which he gladly put in his bag. He decided he'd open the letter at when he got out of the attic, and went towards the door.

He walked down the stairs, and began working the envelope open as he did. He held it up at the bottom of the stairs. It was really well written, and wrote in cursive.

 _'Dear Spruce Lovesworth'_ He read, a strange feeling coming over him as he realized it said his actual name. On cue Vixen, who was fairly silent this whole time, began growling at the paper. _'It has come to my attention that you have entered this dastardly house, which I can only tell you one thing: Leave. This place is a place of dastardly spirits and I'd prefer if you weren't exposed to them. And it would not be in your best interests if they found you. So, please, don't stay here._

_Yours truly, ~~Falcon~~ ~~Bird~~ ~~Dove~~ Robin'_

It seemed the writer has crossed out their name multiple times, trying to get it right. Then he noticed something else.

_' P.S.- My name is not actually Robin, I just wanted a name that I thought was nice, and more comprehensible them my actual name'_

He smiled gently at that, letting out a soundless giggle. It was endearing, in a way, if not for the fact that he didn't know who wrote the letter or how they found him. The cat on his shoulders turned to look at him in shock, silently asking how he managed to find anything delightful in this. He shook his head and told himself that this was, in fact, very weird and he shouldn't feel anything over this besides disturbed and scared. He walked towards the front door only to stop after he realized the door was shut. The door was not supposed to be shut. He felt himself run towards it and tug on it, for it to swing open. He stared out blankly, feeling panic fill him. This....

This was not the world he entered originally.

He turned towards the porch and saw an envelope that was identical to the one he had just finished reading and picked it up and opened it. It read:

_'It seems it's a bit too late. I'm sorry I couldn't help you get out before you were trapped here. I don't know if you believe me or not. I would of helped you more but you wouldn't of seen me. No-one sees me. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry_

_\- Robin'_

He really was fucked, wasn't he? He was stranded in wherever the fuck this place was with his cat. Just fucking dandy. Absolutely amazing. Just what he needed. His thoughts were very sarcastic for someone who was shaking and about to have a panic attack. But he decided he'd ignore the fact he was about to either faint or have a heart attack and think about the main issue:

How was he going to get out of here?


	2. A New Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vixen and Spruce search the house once again and find something unexpected! Whatever shall it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally referring to Spruce as his actual fucking name Ɛ>

Spruce began to turn around and walk back in the house, but he found himself frozen at the door. He didn't trust this house. So he turned and walked down the stairs. He looked around, and heard Vixen growl from his shoulders. It was similar to a marsh of sorts in appearance, and it was..... Dark. Which would have been pretty questionable, since he did arrive at the house early in the morning, but they were already transported somewhere else entirely. He began walking forward but heard a sound. He stopped. He began looking around for it and was surprised to see something jump from a tree to the roof of the house. Well, to put it more accurately, attempt to jump from a tree to the roof of the house, only to fall down and land face-first, letting out a loud "Owww" as they did. Spruce looked at them curiously and walked towards them. They turned their head and immediately bolted up on to his feet. when he walked towards them. Spruce them managed to get a good visual on them.

....... They were definitely not human.

They had dark red hair, and their skin...... It was coal black, with dark red smudges all over (they were darker then the hair), and two horns that looked similar to a goats, and they were dark grey, save for the small amber markings that seemed to be glowing. Their eyes were yellow and had a glow to them, and their sclera was completely black. Their clothing was also a bit peculiar for being in the middle of a marsh, a red undershirt with a black jacket with black slacks and black loafers. And they had a..... A tail. It was long and incredibly thin, ending in what looked like a.... Clover? Or a- what was it called? Club? The one in poker cards? Were they poker cards? That wasn't important right now. What WAS important, however, was how dark it was compared to the rest of their body. It was extremely black, a pitch black, which contrasted heavily to the coal black of the body. And...... And they had wings. Which Spruce should have addressed sooner, yes, but he only (somehow) noticed them now. They were large, and looked similar to a bats, with the underside being dark red with some black smudges and the overside being black with some red smudges.

He stared at them and waited for a reaction, and eventually they sputtered "Y- you can see- can see me?" Spruce nodded. They had a masculine voice, with a slight deterioration to it. "Ah. Well. This- Did you see me fall down from that?" They asked, to which Spruce nodded. "Oh. Oh god. Fuck. Well. That's- That's a horrible first impression. Yeah. Can you just pretend that I didn't just do that?" Spruce giggled at that and nodded. "Wait, can you talk?" They asked, to which Spruce shook his head no after a moment of hesitation. They stood there for a few moments, "I know sign" They said, while signing it out with their hands. Spruce gasped before clasping his hands together excitedly, eyes lighting up. 'What is your name?' Spruce signed, and the other seemed to hesitate before responding, "My name is- it's R- Just call me- uhh- My name can't really be pronounced by humans so- Wait your mute. Well, it can't be comprehended by them, either" Spruce nodded and tried signing again, 'Do you want me to call you anything?' To which the other responded "Marcus Thorne, call me Marcus Thorne'' Spruce nodded, smiling at him. 'I'm Spruce Lovesworth' he signed, to which the demon responded "Yeah, I know, it's my ability to learn surface level intelligence of people when I first meet them. Name, gender, pronouns, that shit. Nothing more than that, though"

Spruce nodded, the quickly signed "What are you?" At first Marcus was confused, but realization crept in. "Ohhh. Oh. Well I'd say I'm masculine leaning in gender terms, and mainly go be he/him, they/then, xe/xer, but I don't care what you call me. Don't like she/her though. Never really understood why" Spruce nodded, smiling. Vixen stared at Marcus with suspicion, but didn't do anything. "Your, uh, your.... Is that a cat?" 'Yes' Spruce signed, confused. "..... A bit big for a cat, don't you think?" Spruce took that into consideration. It was very true that Vixen was larger than a normal cat, but it definitely wasn't too big. 'I guess so. Never really noticed it before' Marcus nodded, "So, uh, are you- are you stuck here?" He asked, curiously. Spruce stared at him before nodding, sudden realization of where he was taking over.

"Hey! Hey, don't panic, I'll- I'll help you!" Marcus said, trying to console him. It was then Spruce realized something: Marcus was tall. Like, around 6'7 kinda tall. And very, very buff. "I- I can try to help you! I don't know how but I could try!" Marcus exclaimed, trying his best to keep the distortion in his voice at moderate levels. 'Really?' Spruce signed, tilting his head with a hopeful glint in his eyes. Marcus stared at him for a few seconds and he could have sworn he saw his face grow darker before he suddenly exclaimed "Yeah! Definitely! Totally! Yep! You can rely on me!" Marcus said, grinning and putting his hand in his hip, leaning forward and giving a thumbs up. Spruce smiled at him, tilting his head and grinning. Marcus' face grew darker than it was before and he immediately turned his face away. "Yep no problem least I could do" Spruce stared at him curiously while Vixen's eyes narrowed.

"So..... What do you plan on doing now?" Spruce stared at the house then back at the marsh and turned towards Marcus with a shrug. "Ah. Well, I recommend not staying in the house. Not because it'll hurt you! It doesn't do anything besides transport you I think. But because it's old and run down and generally diseased most likely" Spruce stared at him 'Are you asking me to go home with you?' which made Marcus sputter "I MEAN- wait- wait, yeah, yeah I do I thought- for a minute I thought you meant- I'm sorry I'm bad at these kind of things" Marcus said, blushing and placing his hands behind his head. Spruce tilted his head before realizing and flushing. He shook his head no and signed 'I didn't mean it like that!' "Yeah, yeah I know, I'm just a dumbass, I don't know what's wrong with me- Well I do but still-" 'What's wrong with you?' Spruce signed, tilting his head. "Well, it's not a human thing, but y'know autism and ADHD? Yeah, it's like those. They really make me act like a dumbass sometimes" 'I don't think you're a dumbass. I think you're good. You misinterpret some things, that's all' ".... Ah. That's- That's actually the first time someone has said something like that to me" Marcus said, a light flush on his cheeks.

'That is very sad' Spruce signed, "Yeah, yeah.... But, well, uh- what do we do now?" Marcus asked awkwardly. Spruce seemed to realize this. He put a hand on his chin and thought for a few seconds. Eventually, after a few seconds, he signed: 'I have no idea' "Well then. That's- that's not good. Huh. Well. Fuck" Spruce nodded, and moved forwards 'You said you have a home, right? We could go there. Marcus seemed to realize that "Oh, yeah! I do! I don't live with anyone so sorry if I'm a bad roommate." Marcus said. Spruce nodded, and Vixen glared at Marcus but didn't do anything. "Right. Now, to my house!" Marcus said, grinning. Spruce grinned and held Marcus's hand, causing the taller to freeze up. "You- My- My hand- This is fine" He said, walking forward. Spruce stared at him but didn't let go. Marcus led him forwards, and Spruce then realized how much he trusted someone he not only just met but was also a demon. Well, whatever, he seemed nice, and he was his only safe bet at the moment. But another question still stood: Were the other demons that probably resided here as nice? The answer is most likely no, but hey, at least he was friends with one.

* * *

The odd trio eventually came up to a.... Another dark house. It seemed extremely gothic in design, and it wasn't too big but not too small. It was bigger than the other house yeah but it was definitely not too big. "This house was abandoned here so yeah, I- I kinda just moved in" Marcus said 'it looks nice' Spruce signed, smiling. "Really? That's good! I'm- I'm happy you like it!" He grinned, happy at the compliment. He led Spruce up the stairs and opened the door, leading them to a very gothic and old fashioned living room. "Yeah, it's pretty dated. Sorry about that" he closed the door on his way inside. 'It's fine. It looks very nice' Spruce signed, earning a smile from Marcus. Vixen had jumped down from his shoulders and went towards the couch, jumping on it. The two stared at Vixen before walking towards it, sitting down next to it. Spruce stroked Vixen's fur as Marcus sat next to him and twirled his fingers together. "So, uh.... You have any questions?" Marcus asked. 'Why does your tail look so different then the rest of your body?' spruce signed, causing Marcus to freeze up. "Well, it's a.... A demon.... Thing. You see, different kinds of demon get different kinds of tail tip shapes. There's space, ace, heart and diamond" 'ace?' Spruce signed, "Oh. It's also known as the club" Spruce nodded. "Well, to be more specific, it's a..... It's a thing with my specific species of demon. We're called luckster demons and we- were fairly powerful among demons. Our tails are always an extremely dark version of our skin tone. Well, our main skin tone. I have, what is put in human terms, vitiligo" He explained, earning a nid from Spruce, who had moved Vixen to his lap. "And since I have vitiligo, my tail only takes the main color. Well, that or the red is so dark you can't differentiate it from the black" Spruce nodded once again.

"I'd explain more but I'm sure you're probably tired or hungry or something" Marcus said, getting up, "So I'll quickly go and prepare something for you to eat. God, why did I say quickly before eat? That's weird" Marcus whispered the last part, heading out of the living room. Spruce looked down at Vixen, who was staring back up at him with it's red eyes. 'I think I like him' Spruce said, smiling, earning what he thought looked like an eye roll from the cat. Spruce didn't know much about this place, but he did know one thing:

Things were going to get real funky eventually, but the big question was when?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried spacing out the paragraphs more, let me know if they work better or worse then the long paragraphs from before! Also the first few chapters are pretty tame but more should happen later on!


	3. Nightlight

Marcus stared at the food he had gotten. A couple slices of cheese, some lunch meat, some vegetables, and some fruit. He usually didn't make small platters like this but he felt like he had to. After all, Spruce had been so nice to him. Spruce..... Spruce was..... He made Marcus feel strange. He made him feel an emotion he couldn't explain, one he didn't want to feel. Or want to admit he felt. He only just met him, after all. But the kindness, although small, drew him close. Kindness wasn't something you saw often here, especially in the life Marcus has lived, so he it wasn't very hard for Spruce to solidify a place in his heart. He also poured a glass of water because he figured that it was the best choice, and brung it out to Spruce.

Spruce smiled up at him, grabbing the platter and water and placing it down, before turning back to him and signing 'thank you'. Marcus flushed, "Don't- Don't mention it! You were just really kind to me despite barely knowing me and not being that close with me so I figured it was the least I could do" which made Spruce tilt his head. 'Being nice isn't that big of a deal' he signed, causing Marcus to say "Well when you've lived here as long as I have it is" 'How long?' Spruce signed, curious. "Well, my entire life, so around..... Well, I'm technically 'old' by human standards, but if my age were converted into human age it'd be around 25 years" 'I'm 23' Spruce signed. "Ah. And Vixen? If you know it's age, that is" Spruce looked down at the cat who was staring directly at the lunch meat in the plater. 'I don't know' Spruce signed, and Marcus nodded in response. "Anyways, you should eat" And Spruce stared at him before lifting up the platter and placing a slice of cheese on some lunch meat and popping it into his mouth. He also handed a small bit of lunch meat to Vixen, who happily gulped it down.

Marcus had begun rubbing his hands over eachother as he watched Spruce and Vixen, smiling gently at them. "You.... You're like a nightlight, y'know? The only brightness in this darkness", making Spruce turn towards him and flush lightly, before he smiled and nodded. Marcus grinned, and his tail began to move back and forth lightly. Spruce noticed, but he didn't say anything about it. "So.... I, uh..... Uh...... How do I word this....." Marcus said as he trailed off and kneaded his hands together, "Did you.... Have anyone close to you? Before winding up here, I mean" making Spruce pause. He didn't..... Have anyone, now that he thought about it. He didn't talk to that many people, and none of them appealed to him. Not that they wanted to talk to the mute kid. And his family...... 'no' Spruce signed, "Really? ..... Huh" Marcus said, "I figured that you and I wouldn't be.... That similar....." He said, grabbing his tail and fiddling with it. "So. That- Does that Include, like, family and significant others?" Marcus asked, flushing extremely hard at the last part, looking away. Spruce stared at him before tapping his shoulders. Marcus turned to him and saw him sign 'no'. "Oh! O-Okay! God, I feel like such an asshole for making you talk about that!" He blushed, apologetic with his tone.

'no! It's okay!' Spruce signed back, causing Marcus to calm down slightly. "Okay.... Okay! I.... I think I'll let you eat" Marcus said as he got up to leave, only to feel a hand wrap around his own. 'Stay! I like you' Spruce signed, making Marcus blush. "I.... O-Okay! If you insist!" He said as he sat back down. Spruce smiled and kept his hand on the others as he ate, which eventually led to Marcus returning the hold. Spruce suddenly paused, 'Before. You said more?' making Marcus freeze up for a bit, his mouth opening and closing. "I.... I think it'd be best if I waited to tell you" making Spruce stare at him before eventually nodding, but Vixen kept it's eyes on him. Marcus stared at the cat and gave a little wave, only to be met with bared teeth, causing Marcus to stare at it for a few seconds. "I.... I do not think your cat likes me". 'Does not like anyone' Spruce signed in response, not minding what he was saying much. "..... O-Okay" Marcus said, turning his gaze away from the cat. He felt like this was a nice calm..... One he never really felt before. That is, until a loud knock at the door sounded. "Marcus! Marcus I just found this really cool thing, wanna see?"

"That- That's Amberlyn..... Fuck" Marcus said as he got up. "Stay there. I'll get the door. She shouldn't be aggressive but I don't know what goes on in her head, honestly" making Spruce panic, which confused him since he wasn't scared of Marcus. And Vixen didn't seem happy either. Marcus took a deep breath before walking towards the door.

"Dear god I hope this ends well"


End file.
